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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971266">After the Story and Song</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/capitalnineteen/pseuds/capitalnineteen'>capitalnineteen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Injury (referenced), Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, Reunions, So immediately post story and song, that they literally just finished clearing up straglers from the Hunger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:34:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971266</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/capitalnineteen/pseuds/capitalnineteen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is just a super brief little thing I wrote about the first moments after the fighting is over when Barry is finally able to just focus on Lup being back. I quite like it and hated for it to just fade into obscurity on tumblr. Hope you enjoy!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barry Bluejeans/Lup</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>After the Story and Song</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Those bandages are filthy,” Lup says. </p><p>It’s a second before Barry realizes she’s talking to him. He’d been staring, lost, reveling in the sound of her voice, dumbstruck that’s she’s made the sounds herself and that it’s not just an echo his brain produced as a trick. </p><p>And also he’d forgotten he’d been injured. </p><p>He looks down and yeah, the quickly patched up bandage a harried healer had wrapped around his shoulder and upper arm during a brief respite in the fighting has seeped through with blood and whatever fluids leaked out of the shadow monsters they’d been fighting. </p><p>“Yeah,” he says disinterestedly. His offhand comes up to scratch his jaw, fingers rasping against his stubble, but he makes no other move in response. </p><p>Lup laughs and the sound is bright and cheering. It’s dark out - true dark, not the stuff brought on by the apocalypse - but the sound of Lup laughing makes him feel sundazed and giggly. He remembers a distant cousin at a long ago family reunion whose toddler had sat on a blanket in the sun delighted by everything the world had presented her that day. That’s how he feels now, like a child grasping with pudgy little hands, trying to hold all the delicious goodness around them. </p><p>“We need to do something about that, babe,” she prompts but he hears the same humor in her voice as in her laugh, knows she understands and feels the same. </p><p>“You’re <em>here</em>,” he says. It’s not the first time he’s said it. Even in the midst of the battle they’ve just been through, ever so often he’d turned to see her red spectral shape and with a tone of absolute amazement said those same words again and again. </p><p>Which is maybe how he ended up sliced from shoulder to elbow, actually. Luckily, Lup blasted the clawed shadow that ripped the jagged wound open before it could strike again and render him a lich. When the shadow disintegrated, she’d reminded him to try and stay a little more focused. </p><p>Now the shadows are gone and they’re both free to just fucking <em>bask</em> for a minute. It’s all he can do: look at her. </p><p>Taako checked in once during the battle then just a minute ago as they were wiping up the last of the things. It had only been a few stragglers, injured and striking out at anything, after the rest had simply <em>stopped</em>. Taako had said where he was going but, for Barry, those details are hazy at the moment. </p><p>Because <em>Lup’s here. </em></p><p>“Let’s get you to a healer, babe,” she says and his mouth stretches into a grin. </p><p>He swipes a dirty hand across his face, smearing - well, let’s call it grime and leave it at that - across newly minted tear tracks. His emotions are in overdrive at the moment, everything feels turned up to eleven when he looks at her shimmering form and reminds himself that it’s <em>actually over</em> and <em>she’s here</em>. </p><p>Her magic sparkles over him, familiar even after more than a decade where it wasn’t even a memory half the time. </p><p>“How do you still have spell slots?” he asks. His own magic ran out ages ago, leaving him swinging a rough and improvised wooden mace for a while until his injury made even that impossible. </p><p>“I <em>am</em> magic,” she reminds him. </p><p>He laughs, a bit chagrined because <em>duh</em>, he knew that but also just because <em>she’s here</em> and everything is kinda funny and wonderful. </p><p>He runs his hand over his face again, exhaustion creeping up on him fast now that the fighting is over. “The healers’ll have their hands full,” he tells her, reluctant to bother anyone when, after all, worst case scenario he’s got a get-out-of-jail-free card, so to speak. </p><p>Lup must read his thoughts cause he feels the subtle charge of displeasure in the feel of her magic. “Huh uh, buster, you’re keeping that fine body of yours intact even if I have to stitch you up myself.”</p><p>“I just meant I’d take care of it later,” he counters half heartedly because <em>honestly</em>, it’s just a little blood. It takes more than this to stop him. He should know. He’s done the research. </p><p>She makes a tut-tut kind of noise and he wonders briefly how she even does that without a mouth or tongue but then she’s using her magic to peel the bandage back and, oh, <em>fuck</em>. “Yeah, okay,” he concedes, because hell a-mighty just that bit of jostling hurts. </p><p>Her response makes him curious again because <em>how do you <b>snort</b> when you’re a lich?</em> He’s pretty sure he can’t do that. </p><p>A ball of water is summoned above him and then, carefully (though he has all ideas she considers handling it differently) she lets a stream of it run down over his wound, rinsing away the assorted gore to soak into the ground with the rest of the runoff. </p><p>Lup hums to herself as she works and he’s struck again: Lup’s <em>here</em>. </p><p>Reaching up with his offhand he trails his fingers delicately along what would be the edge of her sleeve. It’s a subtle thing, feeling the difference between <em>air</em> and the magic that makes<em> Lup</em>, but he’s particularly attuned to it. </p><p>“Stop distractin’ me, handsome,” she admonishes lightly, her voice that wonderful teasing tone he knows so well. </p><p>“You’re here,” he says again and this time it’s a bit less dazed and a bit more certain. “I thought I dreamed you,” he says. Because he did. So many times he woke up, not knowing where he was or what he was doing, but sure someone - <em>SHE</em> - was supposed to be there. “Thought I was losin’ my godsdamned mind,” he mutters. Because he’d thought that too. </p><p>Then another thought hits him. “How did you survive?” Because for all he’s been through, she was alone and <em>trapped</em>. </p><p>Her form seems to stiffen slightly, though she doesn’t pause at all in her diligent care of his wound. “It…” She sighs, and continues, and if he wasn’t so concerned, he’d be sidetracked again wondering where a sigh comes from for a lich. “It wasn’t great,” she says lightly. “But I wasn’t really aware for a lot of it.”</p><p>He senses that what she was aware of was terrible and he’s nearly blinded by the keen need to hold her, so acute that it steals his breath for a moment. </p><p>“But as you’ve noticed,” she continues, “I’m <em>here.</em> That’s what matters.”</p><p>He nods, head bobbing forcefully as his throat works to push air around the heavy knot of emotion that’s formed there. </p><p>“I heard you,” she tells him. “I… I heard a lot of things and I know how hard you were trying.”</p><p>It’s all he can do to swallow back the sudden influx of new tears. After he’d seen Taako with the umbrastaff… he’d worried what it meant. Later, once he realized where she was, it was all he could do not to snatch the umbrella out of Taako’s hands and snap it. Only fear that breaking it wouldn’t save her, might actually make things worse, had stopped him. He’d figured they’d talk after everyone had their memories back - if there was an after - and figure it out from there. </p><p>“I should have broken the fucking thing outside Refuge,” he apologizes. She could have been out months ago, could have - <em>oh fuck</em>, he realizes, suddenly nauseous with the realization - <em>she could have been in a body by now</em>. </p><p>“Shush it, Bluejeans. It worked out.” </p><p>That’s all she says and he lets it go. There will be time to talk about it all later. </p><p>For a few minutes they’re just silent together while she works. She rinses the bandage and hits it with a Prestidigitation spell then reapplies it. The material is cool on his hot skin, still slightly damp. </p><p>“That’ll hold you for a little while,” she says. “But you’re finding a healer tomorrow. I’ll drag you to one by your black leather belt if it comes to it.”</p><p>“Whatever you say, Lup.”</p><p>Her magic ruffles through his hair, pulling it slightly the way she has a hundred times when teasing him and he feels the smile spread across his face again. </p><p>She snorts a laugh and he reminds himself to ask her later how she does that. </p><p>Because there’ll be time for that, he thinks. </p><p>Time. They have all the time in the world again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I think what prompted this, if I recall correctly, is there's an NPC in World of Warcraft somewhere that says, "Those bandages are filthy." </p><p>It happened to catch my attention one day and I thought of it as a Blupjeans moment and this is what came out. Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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